The furry flyers vary in size,getting smaller the further north they live.Credit:Josh Bowell
A study of the genetics of greater gliders,published inNature's public accessScientific Reports journal,found distinct species in the southern,central and northern ranges.
"Australia's biodiversity just got a lot richer. It's not every day that new mammals are confirmed,let alone two new mammals,"one of the study authors,James Cook University Professor Andrew Krockenberger,said.
The furry flyers vary in size,getting smaller the further north they live.
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The southern species,which inhabits the eastern eucalypt forests of Victoria and NSW,is the heavyweight of the family. Its puffy fleece makes it look about the size of a common brush-tailed possum,but underneath it's really a skinny,light marsupial suited to gliding.
Very little is known about the two other species,said another study author,Australian National University ecologist Kara Youngentob.
The northern glider is about the size of the little ringtail possum and lives in the eucalypt forests between Mackay and Cairns in Queensland. The central glider,which is sized between the northern and southern species,inhabits a range across southern Queensland and up to Mackay.